little help on building a sump for my 55

[george16u]

i got a 55 gal with some corals and some fish. right now i got a skilter filter on it but i know i need to be better. i got some empty aquariums like a couple tens and a five gal. could i use them as a sump and how should i set them up? wonder if i could get some diagrams on how to design them inside and what do i need as far as plumbing and what should go into them?? i don't want to drill this tank so what should i use to get the water down to the sump so that when the electric goes out my house won't flood? and what size pump do i need?

[Steven Pro]

I am not a fan of siphon overflow systems. Since you don't want to drill this tank, I would forgo the sump and instead just focus on better hang-on equipment. A better protein skimmer by an Aqua-C Remora with Maxi-Jet would be big improvement over the Skilter. Then, I would look at hang-on refugiums.

[george16u]

hey steve you happen to be the steve that works at elmers aquarium, would you?

[Steven Pro]

I did work for Elmer's for a number of years, but have not worked there for over 5 years now. You could be thinking of Steve Zarod.

I am guessing you are in the Pittsburgh area. If so, you should really check out the local club sometime, http://www.pmas.org/